Memorial Day is around the corner, and no doubt you will be getting together with your family. Spoil them with some Crispy Fried Chicken, they’ll love you for it.
This is a three-stage recipe – brine, coat and fry. First, pieces of chicken are brined overnight in a combination of buttermilk, garlic, herbs and spices. Second, after brining, each piece of chicken is doused in a flour and cornstarch mixture, then egg, then the flour and cornstarch mixture once more. Third, the carefully prepared pieces of chicken are fried in coconut oil in a deep skillet. The final result is a gloriously crispy pile of chicken, delightfully juicy on the inside, and full of flavor.
Admittedly, this recipe is a little pricey. The use of coconut oil during the cooking process is what tips the financial scale. To bring cost down, you can use a more affordable cooking oil that can stand up to prolonged heat such as canola or vegetable oil. However, cooking the chicken in coconut oil, amps up the crispiness and adds a touch of flavor.
I’m miffed that I didn’t rip apart one piece of the chicken so that you could see the cooked flesh. As I mentioned, it is super juicy which makes it almost impossible to keep from pushing pieces of chicken in your mouth. Nonmnomnom – nomnom!
I really like this recipe because the Crispy Fried Chicken stays crispy – isn’t that great? I am not a fan of a chicken coating that becomes soft and mealy. No need to down all of the chicken in one sitting, this Crispy Fried Chicken returns to it’s crispy wonderfulness once reheated.
If you like, you can skip reheating, it’s great cold too, making this chicken ideal for practically any event, indoor or outdoor.
No matter how and when you serve this chicken, it will be a welcome addition to your casual family meal. Give yourself a head start and make a batch today!
Crispy Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Brine
- 4 cups buttermilk
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 3 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 lb chicken pieces bone in and skin on
Fried Chicken
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 6 cups of coconut oil or your preferred alternative
Equipment & Utensils
- Large bowl
- Large baking pan or tray with wire rack
- Large and deep skillet
- Deep frying cooking thermometer
Instructions
Brine
- Whisk together buttermilk, salt, paprika and coriander in a large bowl.
- Add garlic and bay leaves and mix.
- Add chicken pieces and then move them around to ensure the brine coats each piece
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least six hours, preferably overnight.
- Once chicken has be adequately brined, remove from fridge and remove chicken from brine and place each piece on wire rack, and use a baking tray to catch the excess that falls away.
- Place chicken in the fridge uncovered to allow the chicken to dry off for 1 hour, or alternatively, pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
- Once most of the brine has dried off, place chicken on a large plate and wash and dry wire rack and tray.
Fried Chicken
- Place flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, coriander, salt and cayenne in a bowl and mix together thoroughly and set aside.
- Whisk together the egg and buttermilk and set aside.
- Place dried chicken, the flour mixture and egg mixture, and the wire rack and tray on a clear work surface, creating an assembly line in that order.
- Douse each piece of chicken in the flour mixture, then egg mixture, and then again into the flour mixture, then place that coated piece of chicken on the wire rack, to allow the excess coating to drip or fall away.
- Repeat until you have coated each piece of chicken.
- Transfer coated chicken to another tray or plate and once again rinse and dry the wire rack and tray.
- Pour oil into skillet, place the thermometer into the oil and heat until 350 degrees.
- Carefully place pieces of chicken into the oil. You will likely have to cook the chicken in two or three batches.
- Watch the thermometer, you want the oil to stay at 350 throughout the cooking process. Turn the heat up and down accordingly.
- Remove each piece of chicken as soon as the coating turns a light golden color and place on wire rack.
- Once every piece of chicken has been fried, place the tray of chicken into a preheated oven at 350 and allow to cook for approx. 10 mins
- Test a thicker piece of chicken to make sure it's cooked through. If necessary return to the oven for a further 5 mins, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Once done, allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
